576. A New Approach to Childhood Obesity, Food Worker Exploitation, and Cat Oakar on Farmers Markets as Community Infrastructure

Reuters reports that the U.S. Department of Agriculture is changing the rules for its Rural Energy for America program, which has helped thousands of farmers and rural businesses invest in renewable energy and energy efficiency.

Under the new rules, farmers will need to complete their projects and demonstrate a year of energy savings before applying for funding.

So let's think about that for a minute.

Farmers who are already facing rising fuel and fertilizer costs will now have to find the money up front before they can receive support, which doesn't make a lot of sense to me.

USD says these changes will ensure funding goes toward demonstrated result, but I think there is a serious question about who will actually be able to participate.

We talk a lot about helping farmers become more resilient and profitable, but policies like this can risk making that harder for farmers, especially for small and beginning farmers.

Next, a new report from the International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems, or IPAS Food, reveals something deeply troubling.

Nearly 1.4 billion people work in food systems.

That's roughly two out of every five workers worldwide.

And what's troubling, according to the report, is that food systems exploit more workers than any other sector.

So we're talking about farm workers, fishers, food processing employees, restaurant workers and delivery drivers, the people who honestly just make sure that the rest of us can eat.

Many of them face dangerous working conditions, low wages, discrimination and and few legal protections.

Women and migrant workers are especially vulnerable, especially to sexual violence and harassment.

The IFAS Food Report also finds a lot of solutions, including stronger labor protections and worker-led organizing.

So I think we need to really change how we talk about food systems transformation.

It's not just about healthier soil, lower emissions, or better technologies.

It's about whether the people doing the work can earn a decent living, support their families, and be treated with dignity.

Now I want to talk about how the World Health Organization released its first global guidelines on managing obesity among children and adolescents.

The numbers are staggering.

In 2024, an estimated 170 million children and adolescents were experiencing obesity.

That's four times the prevalence in 1990.

The WHO emphasizes support for healthy eating, physical activity, and behavioral change.

It also recognizes that some adolescents may need additional medical treatment.

Something stands out to me, though.

The WHO acknowledges that treatment alone cannot solve this crisis.